Trust No One
by Your Fellow Human
Summary: When an old friend of the Mystery Shack gang returns to Gravity Falls, he is greeted as the town's prodigal son. But why does Dipper have a hard time trusting him? And what does this young man know about the secrets of Gravity Falls? OCxWendy WendyxDipper
1. He Returns

Trust No One

My first Gravity Falls fan fiction. I'm a big fan of the series and I wanted to try my hand at writing some fan fiction with an OC. I will try to keep it to canon as much as possible. I hope you enjoy.

Mostly Thriller/Mystery with some romance as well (we'll see how that goes lol).

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Chapter 1: He Returns

Wendy flipped through her magazine and sighed deeply. It had been an extremely slow day at the Mystery Shack, so she was hiding away on the roof of the decrepit lodge that was her current employment. Often on days like today, where the inhabitants of the small town of Gravity Falls were not in the mood for being conned out of their money by the crotchety old miser that she called her boss, she would often come up to this secret haven to think about how boring her life was.

Today was different however, as this time her mind was preoccupied thinking about the two new tenants of the Mystery Shack. Dipper and Mabel, the Pines twins or as Soos liked to call them, the Mystery twins. The only real mystery about the pair to Wendy was how on earth they were related to Stan. Otherwise the two seemed like your average dynamic duo. As she thought about it though, she realized there was more to the twins than met the eye. While Mabel may be an optimistic, boy crazy little girl, she had become kind of like Wendy's silly little sister, which was kind of nice since she came from a family of all boys. Dipper was different from his sister. He was paranoid, always thinking everything was part of some great conspiracy plot, but he was very mature and in her opinion, a very brave 12 year old boy.

She thought back about how he had saved her and her friends from the ghosts that had attacked them in the condemned Dusk2Dawn convenience store almost a week ago. At first, when she had heard the ramblings from the twins about the strange and mysterious things in Gravity Falls, she had thought they were just two preteens with overactive imaginations. Even when they came back on their second day staying at the Mystery Shack with the golf kart she had let Dipper borrow, claiming that gnomes had destroyed it to their very upset great uncle, she had thought they just got into a little accident and were trying to make up a story to get out of having to pay for the damages. Now she started to believe.

It at least made their adventures feel more real. She remembered when she was their age, going on adventures with him. The boy from her childhood. The twins often reminded her of her youth and how she used to go explore the mysterious town with him, but then he left Gravity Falls. He left her. He almost left without saying a word, but he had sent her one last correspondence before he just disappeared. She wanted to write him back, ask him why he left their hometown, but the letter had no return address. She still had the letter, hidden in her room. It reminded her of him, kept his memory alive, even though she wasn't sure if he was. She always loved his writing, always seeing him with his journal, writing something down. She would ask what he was writing, but he never showed her, always giving her a gentle laugh and saying, "Maybe one day I'll show you."

During this reverie of her past, she didn't notice how the sun was starting to set beyond the horizon of tall pine trees. She also didn't notice the dark blue 2000 Mercury Sable that drove up to the Mystery Shack nor did she hear the car door shut as it's driver stepped out of the vehicle.

"Hey Wendy! Still got your little hangout on the roof, I see."

The shout stunned her and broke her of her daydream. The voice that called out to her wasn't one of her friends from school, but there was a tinge of familiarity to the tone. She set down her magazine and got up from the lawn chair. Looking over the edge of the roof, she stared at the stranger who was now sitting on the hood of his car, staring back at her. She racked her brain, trying to figure out who this mysterious young man was when he laughed. Then it all clicked, and she gasped in surprise. It was him. He was different from her memories, but the laugh was the same.

"I...I..don't believe it, it's you!" she stuttered.

"Well, am I going to get a proper welcome or what?" he asked, smiling up at her.

"Hold on, I'll be right down." Wendy yelled, as she rushed back to the trap door that lead back down to the Mystery Shack gift store. She couldn't believe it, her excitement giving her a sense of warmth that she hasn't felt for many years. He had returned to Gravity Falls. He had returned to her.

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Well I hope you like it. I'll try to update as soon as I can, but my schedule has been busy. I'll also try to keep the story as close to canon as possible


	2. TRUST NO ONE

Trust No One

So I need to preface this with saying that I apologize for this chapter for being shorter than the first. When I had written the second chapter, it ended up being almost 2500 words, so it made more literary sense to split it into 3 separate chapters. So the next chapters will be short as well, and it might seem like the story is moving slowly, but I will reveal my character soon and once the chapters are released the story will pick up as well.

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Chapter 2: "TRUST NO ONE"

The Pines twins had just made it back from a long day of monster hunting when they heard the familiar jingle of a bell, signaling that some unfortunate soul had crossed the threshold into the infamous Mystery Shack gift shop. Many a tourist had lost their money buying some worthless piece of junk that their Grunkle Stan passed off as an ancient relic or some other such nonsense.

"Hey, come on Dipper. Let's go see who it is."

"Ugh, Mabel. It's probably some boring tourist who doesn't know anything." Dipper replied frankly, tired from their little adventure through the woods that was fruitless yet again.

"Besides the Shack is closed. Grunkle Stan will just kick them out of the store anyway."

"Oh lighten up Dipping Sauce. I know you're curious to find out who it is." Mabel said, and then proceeded to make weird noises and poke his face with her forefinger.

Dipper yelped when she almost caught him in the eye.

"Okay fine. As long as you promise to stop doing that!"

"Yay!" Mabel exclaimed, as she skipped toward the source of their newest distraction for the day, with her twin brother grudgingly in tow.

The Mystery Shack hadn't changed much since the twins had arrived here from Piedmont, California, when their parents dropped them off to spend the summer with their great-uncle Stanford Pines in his house/tourist trap, in the small town of Gravity Falls, Oregon. At first, Dipper thought that this was going to be the most boring summer he would have to endure. That all changed when he found 3, the mysterious book that was hidden in the woods near the Mystery Shack. Ever since, the seemingly plain town grew into a place filled with frightening mysteries and other strange occurrences. Why in the time that they had spent there, Dipper had saved his sister from an army of gnomes, took pictures of a giant lake monster, defeated their Grunkle Stan's collection of cursed wax figures, saved Mabel again (although Mabel would constantly say that she had saved him), this time from a little circus side-show freak with a magic amulet, not to mention his encounter with the ghosts haunting the old convenience store and his test of manliness with the Manotaurs. Even though his sister would have figured out someway to make the summer enjoyable, Mabel too liked going on these adventures with him, even if more times than not she would end up in some sort of danger. It helped keep her mind off the abysmal luck she was having finding her "epic summer romance".

Yes, it had all started with that tattered old book, with its cryptic messages whose author had seemingly disappeared before they were able to finish writing, and filled with knowledge of the different magical creatures that roamed the area around Gravity Falls. In his free time, Dipper spent it either reading all the information the book had to offer or he would jot down any new discoveries he had found on his and his twin's adventures.

The hidden warnings and ciphers in the book continued to haunt Dipper. He had been able to crack some of the codes, but they hadn't really shed anymore light on the dark secrets of the small town. The warning he took most to heart had been scrawled into the page like the writer had been under great stress, perhaps running away from the person or thing that they had said was watching them.

TRUST NO ONE

While Dipper had obviously made exception with his sister, Grunkle Stan, and now with getting to know them more in the month they had stayed there, Wendy and Soos, Dipper didn't really trust anyone else in Gravity Falls, tourist or resident. So when the twins came upon the gift shop, Dipper began to feel his paranoia set in, preparing himself for the strange intruder that had stepped into what was now their home.

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Well here's chapter two. I hope you enjoy. Please read and review.


	3. A Reunion with Old Friends

Trust No One

First off, I want to thank all of those who have left reviews or favorited/followed this story or myself. It has been absolutely awesome to see you guys leave your thoughts on my story and I'm so glad that you have shown such enthusiasm to my work. It really keeps me going. Secondly, I would like to dedicate this chapter to my little brother, whose birthday is today. So I have to go to celebrate, but I figured I'd leave this for you folks for your dedication.

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Chapter 3: A Reunion with Old Friends

The gift shop was the same as it always had been, with poorly put together wooden shelves filled with even more poorly made trinkets marked for twice what they were probably worth, if they were even worth anything. Otherwise the shop was mostly empty, besides the two figures standing near the entrance of the Mystery Shack. One the twins immediately recognized as their great-uncle Stan. He was standing behind the counter counting the money from the cash register in his signature tuxedo outfit, his gray hair topped with a red Shriner fez. His thick black-rimmed glasses shielded his beady eyes as they stared down greedily at the crisp green bills. The other person Dipper surmised, was the visitor they had heard enter. Unfortunately the setting sun's rays bled through the door window, casting the stranger in shadows, hiding the figure's details from the two youngest inhabitants of the Mystery Shack. From the twins point of view, the stranger was standing in profile facing the counter, seemingly waiting for Stan to acknowledge the intruder.

After a few moments of silence, Stan finally spoke.

"The Mystery Shack is closed for the day. So, you know, scram rube." Grunkle Stan grunted in his usual low gruff voice.

This did not seem to deter the stranger, as the figure instead leaned forward, resting their arm on the top of the register.

"Now, is that any way to treat an old friend, Mr. Pines?"

From the tone, Dipper realized that the visitor was a young man. While the voice itself didn't seem very unique, no more than a typical Americana dialect, it was filled with a sense of confidence.

This response surprised Grunkle Stan and he diverted his attention from his stack of money to stare at the young man. Suddenly, Stan's eyes shot open, almost like he had just seen a ghost, a feeling Dipper knew better than anyone.

"Well, I'll give away half my money to charity, Adam!" Grunkle Stan laughed and shot out his hand, which the young man grabbed and shook vigorously, joining in with his own laughter.

"It's good to see you haven't changed a bit, Stan."

"Wish I could say the same to you. Look at you! How have you been? Wh..where have you been?"

Right before he was about to answer Stan's barrage of questions, Adam turned to greet Soos, who just appeared out of nowhere.

Dipper couldn't believe that he had not seen Soos enter the room. However the lovable man-child had a knack for pulling this particular magic trick, always there in an instant whenever their Grunkle Stan needed him. Dipper had always wondered if there were hidden maintenance halls in the Mystery Shack which allowed Soos to accomplish this feat.

"Soos, long time no see."

"Hiya dude. Welcome back." Soos said, and the two proceeded to participate in what looked like some weird secret handshake, which culminated with them spinning in circles, beating their chests with their fists and finally ending with them shaking hands normally.

As Dipper and Mabel watched the scene unfold, they almost didn't hear the sound of footsteps coming from above them. They turned to see Wendy, who shimmied down the ladder and rushed past the twins, almost knocking them over in the process.

Wendy stopped a few feet in front of the trio of men, her eyes fixated on the new visitor Adam. As the commotion between the three died down, Adam turned to meet Wendy's gaze.

"Hey there." Adam said, and he raised his hand up in front of him, his palm facing her.

Wendy looked at him, still in shock from his entrance earlier. She still couldn't believe that he had returned.

"Well, don't leave me hanging."

"Adam, it's you. You came back."

Wendy jumped toward him, wrapping her arms around his neck and burying her head into his shoulder. Adam stumbled back a bit, clearly caught off guard by Wendy's reaction. He recovered quickly though, wrapping his arms around her and giving her a tight squeeze. He chuckled softly.

"I missed you too, dork."

Wendy laughed a little, squeezed him back, and the two finally separated. Dipper felt something in the pit of his stomach rise up into his throat. While he would not admit it out loud, he couldn't deny the fact that he had feelings for the red-headed fifteen year old. Seeing her show such affection toward someone, something that had seemed so out of character for the girl he had come to love, made him filled with jealousy. When Mabel saw Dipper tense up, she reached out and touched his shoulder. Dipper looked at his twin and smiled, grateful for the support. They both strode out into the store to meet this new young man.

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Yay, I finally revealed the name of my OC, lol. There will be more to come, but there might be a little bit of a wait, because I'm kind of use to the buffer since the chapter is finished, but my chapter 5 isn't so I want to make it so I'm releasing chapters on a somewhat regular basis.


	4. My name is Adam

Trust No One

Hey everyone, sorry for getting this to you later than I had originally wanted to. I was going to release it yesterday, but with work and other stuff, I wasn't able to get in front of my computer long enough. The story has been going well, as I already have a couple of the newer chapters almost completely done, so updates should be coming more often. :)

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Chapter 4: "My Name Is Adam"

As the twins neared Adam, they finally got a good look at this strange new visitor. He was a taller fellow, towering a few inches over Wendy. He wore tennis shoes with tattered soles from excessive use. His blue jeans, also faded with age, stood out against his clean white shirt. Over this he wore an unbuttoned, long sleeve plaid shirt, similar in style to the one Wendy always wears except instead of being green, it was sky blue. His skin was fairly pale, but showed signs that he had been outside in the sun. This was a comforting sight for Dipper. Otherwise he would have to hear from his sister all day that this lanky young man was a vampire. Scruffy blonde hair lined his chin and around his mouth, making him appear older that the twins believed he was.

While he was a rather ordinary, somewhat handsome guy, he did have one trait that the twins noticed that would have made him stand out in a crowd. Unlike the one Gruncle Stan would wear as part of his "Man of Mystery" persona, Adam wore a cream-colored rectangular medical patch that rested over the area where his left eye and eyebrow would have been, held in place by white strings that were strapped behind both ears. His right eye which lay unobstructed, shared the same hue as his plaid over-shirt, a piercing light blue. His shaggy corn silk hair was long enough that the bangs reached down to brow level, while on the back of his head, it went as far as his shirt collar.

Finally Dipper spoke, alerting everyone in the shop to their presence.

"Hey guys, what's going on in here?"

All of them turned toward the twins smiling, except for Adam who gave them a surprised, almost confused look.

"Sorry, I didn't know there was anyone else here." Adam said, taking a few steps towards the Pines.

"My name is Adam, and who might you two be?"

Dipper had opened his mouth to speak, but his sister beat him to the punch.

"I'm Mabel Pines, and this is my twin brother Dipper." Mabel stated in her usual up beat tone as she for no logical reason pushed Dipper, who comically fell to the floor.

Adam's eye widened. Apparently everyone was seeing ghosts today.

"Wait, as in Stan's grand-niece and nephew?!"

The twins nodded.

"Wow, I don't believe it. You're all grown up now!"

"I'm sorry, but have we met before?" Dipper asked as he stood up and brushed dust of his shirt, clearly confused since he had no recollection of ever meeting this man until today.

"Yeah, but I'm sure you wouldn't remember that. You two were just babies back then. Your mom and dad came up to see Stan and they brought you with them. But now look at you!" Adam exclaimed as he watched Mabel who was spinning around in circles, modeling for him.

During Mabel's little show, Dipper made his way over to Wendy and whispered, "Who exactly is this guy?"

"Adam is an old friend. He was born and raised here in Gravity Falls." Wendy replied.

"Yeah! He used to work for me, along with these two knuckleheads." Gruncle Stan chimed in, pointing to Soos and Wendy.

"We used to hang out all the time, but he left about four years ago." Soos interjected, not wanting to feel left out of the conversation.

"Speaking of which..." Wendy started, speaking louder to get the one-eyed man's attention.

"Why did you leave us?"

Her voice was filled with hurt, again surprising Dipper, and the merriment that had once permeated the shop disappeared in an instant. Even Mabel stopped twirling around, as all eyes were now fixed on the boy from the past. The smile that had been plastered on Adam's face since his arrival at the Mystery Shack slowly faded away. It appeared that Dipper had not been the only person to recognize the sorrow in her tone.

"I suppose I have a lot of explaining to do." Adam said, sounding somewhat defeated as he sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck.

"C'mon," said Gruncle Stan, "let's go into the living room. We can talk there."

Everyone followed Stan toward the other side of the Mystery Shack. Dipper and Mabel walked closely behind Adam, who had his left arm around Wendy, while his right gripped Soos' shoulder. All of them anxiously awaited to hear the young man's story.

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Please Read and Review. I love hearing what you guys think.


	5. Without A Home

Trust No One

Hey everyone. The writing has been going great, I haven't been on this good of a streak for a while, so expect updates probably every other day or so. Also I know all of you are super excited for the new episodes, so I will probably start incorporating them into the story as well. So when those chapters come up I will put up spoiler warnings for you folks.

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Chapter 5: Without A Home

Everyone sat around the discolored yellow cross-stitched chair in what the Pines called their living room. Instead of staring at the TV watching some black and white chick flick, Grunkle Stan was standing in the doorway to get a better vantage point to listen to Adam's tale of the four years he had been gone from Gravity Falls. The twins sat on either side of Adam, while Wendy and Soos sat cross-legged in front of the chair.

"I just can't get over how much you guys have changed." Adam said looking at everyone staring at him.

"You too, I mean look at you. The last time I saw you, you couldn't grow any facial hair to save your life. Now you have a beard." Grunkle Stan replied.

"Yeah, well living on the road all the time doesn't give you many chances to shave. What's your excuse, Stan?"

"What with the fancy parts they use in razors today, sheesh forget about it. It's not like I'm made of money."

Adam laughed at this. It was good to know that although they had all changed so much in the time he was gone, they were still them. It was a comforting thought.

"Dude, you've been traveling, where to?" Soos asked, excited to hear about Adam's adventures.

"All over the place. Washington, Nevada, Arizona, Wisconsin, you know everywhere."

"That still doesn't explain why you left, though." Dipper replied, anxiety working its way through his small body. To say that Dipper didn't particularly trust this new "friend" was probably the understatement of the century. While Adam seemed like a nice enough guy, there was something that felt off about him, almost like he was hiding a giant secret. The smile had again faded from Adam's face, he knew that he couldn't keep dodging this question anymore.

"Was it because of what happened to your parents?" Wendy asked, staring at Adam with eyes of sadness. Everyone turned to face the teenager. Wendy had been pretty quiet after Adam's arrival, seemingly feeling uneasy after the boy from her childhood had made his heroic appearance back to the bleak town. The older members of the Mystery Shack knew what Wendy was referencing. All of Gravity Falls still remembered. After what seemed like a lifetime, Adam hung his head.

"Yeah, pretty much." he mumbled. The twins had hoped that someone would explain the circumstances surrounding the young man's parents, but after seeing everyone looking as downtrodden as Adam, they thought it better not to ask about it now.

"But why come back now?" Grunkle Stan asked, still confused as to the reason for his sudden return.

"I guess, I was trying to find a new spot to call home, but soon before I knew it I was 20 years old and I was still without a home. So I figured that I would come back here, go..."

"You think that just because you came back, everything will go back to being normal!"

The voice surprised everyone, as it had come from Wendy. The usually calm and sarcastic red haired girl, was now almost hysterical and on the bitter edge of tears. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. He had just disappeared and now he thought he could just waltz back into her life, as if none of it had ever happened. He left her, abandoned her when she had needed him most. Her dad had been out of a job and she had started having troubles in middle school. He wasn't there then, and now he comes back to this backwards bumpkin town to be her friend again, it made her incredibly upset.

If anyone was more shocked by her behavior, it had been Adam. His head jerked back up, his narrowed eye fixed on her. He had noticed the subtle changes in the teenager's mood, but he had never seen her act in this way before. He wondered what had happened to the sweet little girl he used to know, who had been so full of life and mischief. He could remember the fond memories of the time long ago, she would come up with an idea for their exploits or a prank they could do and he would be crazy enough to go through with it. It seems that even though most of his other friends hadn't changed, she was the exception. This made him overcome with shame, as if he had caused this change in her.

"You just up and leave us. We were worried about you!"

"I was worried about you guys too. It's just that..."

"We thought you had died. You could have called, told us you were okay. No, you were just on some big adventure without us. Without me!"

"Wendy, I..."

"You know what, forget it. Welcome back you big jerk!" Wendy yelled at the top of her lungs, tears rolling down her cheeks. Then she stood up and dashed out the door. Dipper went to go after her, maybe being able to go comfort her or at least find out why she was acting so odd. He got up from the couch, but Adam quickly grabbed his shoulder and shook his head.

"Just let her be mad at me for awhile."

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Well, that's chapter 5, I hope that I didn't make Wendy too OOC for you guys. It's hard to know how she'd react in situations like this since she rarely shows many deeper emotions in the episodes, but I hope we will get to see some different sides to her. Please read and review.


	6. Accelerated Plans

Trust No One

Happy New Episode Day, my fellow fallers. I'm really excited for Double Dipper. Yeah I know it was already leaked, but I've being patient and waiting for it to air like a real fan (even though it's killing me). So I'm going to go to sleep now so I'll be able to catch the episode, since I work nights, but I figured I'd give you a little present to celebrate.

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Chapter 6: Accelerated Plans

To say the moments after Wendy's outburst were awkward would be the most correct statement one could ever utter. They had all been astonished by her reaction to one of her best childhood friends coming back to their beloved hometown. Stan finally decided to break the uncomfortable silence by clearing his throat.

"Well, that happened. So Adam, it's getting kind of late."

Sure enough, when the twins looked out the window that was recently fixed from Grunkle Stan's incident watching The Duchess Approves, they saw that the sun had long since passed below the horizon and the sky had started to fade to darkness.

"Actually, that's what I was kind of meaning to talk to you about Stan. I bought a place in town, but until the house is finished I have no place to stay. Would it be alright if I stayed at the Shack for a while?"

"Well, I'm not sure. What with the kids here already..."

"Oh c'mon Grunkle Stan, please let him stay." Mabel spoke up, giving her great-uncle the most sparkly pout she could muster. Mabel had been pretty quiet throughout most of the new arrivals stay, besides rambling to him about her bedazzleing her face. While she didn't know too much about the one-eyed former employee of the Mystery Shack, she really liked the young man. Something had made her feel drawn to him. While she didn't know if Dipper felt the same way she did, she could tell that Dipper had noticed it as well. Plus she thought it might be kind of nice to have someone else living with them. She loved her dear twin brother to death, but she did often get tired of the times he would just sit on his bed all day and read his book.

"Oh alright. You can stay," Stan Pines grumbled, "but there might be a small rental fee."

Adam laughed and said, "You got it."

He then turned toward Mabel.

"And thank you, Mabel." Adam said, and gave her a big friendly grin. She smiled back at him as Dipper stared at his twin sister with big, bulging eyes. Dipper did not like the idea of this stranger staying here in their Grunkle Stan's home. He was going to have a talk with Mabel before they went to bed.

"Well I'm going to hit the hay, you animals should do the same." Stan yawned and went into the kitchen, going toward his room.

"Okay, I call the bathroom first." Mabel yelled and rushed up the stairs to get ready for her shower.

"Well I still need to get stuff out of my car. Have a good night's sleep, Dipper." Adam said, and then proceeded to go outside to his vehicle.

"Yeah, you too." Dipper mumbled under his breath, clearly still skeptical about this whole situation.

After Mabel had gotten done with her shower, Dipper took his. As the hot water washed down his bare chest, he thought about the all the commotion that Adam had caused. Dipper was worried about Wendy. She had seemed so upset. After he finished drying himself off and putting on his pajamas, he noticed that his sister had fallen fast asleep. He didn't have the heart to wake her to talk about her brash decision to let Adam stay, and the fatigue from earlier had come back almost tenfold. So, he crawled into bed and drifted off to sleep.

Stanford Pines had been called many things in his life. A con-artist, yeah. A thief maybe, but none had ever called him heartless. While he wouldn't miss an opportunity to make a quick buck or get something that he needed without paying for it, he had never thought to put another person's life in danger because of his schemes. However, he could no longer afford that luxury. As all was quiet in the Mystery Shack, Stan made his way toward the gift shop. Adam was a good friend, had been a good employee, but his unexpected presence in Gravity Falls disturbed Stan. It meant his plans were accelerating. Stan cursed himself for even allowing his brother's son to send his kids to live with him for the summer. He had come to deeply care for their safety, but he knew that now, they might not be able to escape this place before it happens. He neared the vending machine at the edge of the room, hitting the secret code and slid behind the machine as it sprung out from the wall. It then closed behind him, lights flickering off. The stage was set, now it was just a matter of time.

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Well here's chapter six. I wonder what Stan has in store for our heroes? Guess you'll have to wait and find out. Please read and review.


	7. Dipper's Suspicions

Trust No One

Hello everyone. I've been really happy with how this story is going. I saw the newest episode and I can't wait to be able to work it into the story. I just wanted to make a note to thank all of you folks for your continued encouragement of my work. I'm super glad that you like it and I will do my best to keep you guessing and wanting more. Without further to do, here you go.

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Chapter 7: Dipper's Suspicions

It had been three days since Adam's grand entrance at the Mystery Shack. Considering the disturbance he had caused when he had originally arrived, the twins hardly noticed the young man when he was around. The only times that they even were aware of his presence was when Wendy would barge out of the room if he was there. She would always be in a rush, claiming to go on "break" when it was painfully obvious that she just couldn't stand being in the same room as him. Dipper had seen one time when Adam had tried to step in her way, apologizing to her about what he had said or did that fateful evening. They fell on deaf ears though, as Wendy quickly stepped to his left, making it harder for Adam to see her due to only having his right eye and pushed him to the side, knocking him into a case filled with glass figurines of Sasquatch that crashed to the floor before she stormed out. Grunkle Stan had been ready to take the damages out of Wendy's paycheck, but Adam was able to soothe his rage and had paid for the broken merchandise.

Dipper had noticed Wendy had been in a generally foul mood since her outburst. She was always sarcastic when it came to customer relations at the Shack, but now her wit had a bit more bite than she used to, more often than not scaring patrons away. Whenever she would slip away to her hideout on the roof, Dipper would follow her and try to get her to talk. She would barely say anything to him, blaming it on being tired or complaining that it had been a long day or that she needed some time alone. Dipper had also noticed her carrying a folded envelope in the breast pocket of her plaid shirt, but he could never get a good glance to see what or who it was from, nor could he see what had been written on it.

Dipper had continued to have his doubts about the new tenant of the Mystery Shack, and while on multiple occasions Adam would try to strike up a conversation with the skeptical boy, he would hardly respond to the blue-eyed solicitor. Mabel and Adam seemed to get along rather well on the other hand. Dipper would often see the two sitting at the table, Adam drinking some hot liquid that the male brunette recognized to be tea, while his twin sister would ramble on about boys, makeup or on some occasions, their many adventures since they had arrived in Gravity Falls. At first, Dipper had been very nervous about sharing the secrets they had discovered during their summer vacation to a stranger. Although, after the many times he would see the way Adam would laugh and nod his head, Dipper had concluded that he, like many of the other residents of the mysterious town, didn't believe a word they said, considering them to be just a couple of superstitious twelve-year olds.

Dipper and Soos were still best buddies, but Dipper began to notice that Soos would spend more and more time with Adam instead of him. While they would still hangout every once in a while, when Adam would enter, Soos would drop whatever he was doing and go over to him. The two would laugh like they were old chums and while they would always invite him to join them, Dipper would just leave the room depressed. Even Stan's demeanor had changed with Adam around. He seemed more showy, really getting into his act when entertaining tourists and being more enthusiastic with his scams. The twins also learned that Adam could be just as devious as their great-uncle. Adam had helped Stan with a scheme by dressing up as a ghost pirate captain, swinging from the ceiling using rope and pulleys operated by the twins and Soos, making him appear to be floating in the air. Adam, or the ghost of Captain Killbeard, then scared the guests and convinced them that putting money in a sack Stan was holding would deter them from the spectre's wrath.

While Grunkle Stan's promise of rent payment had been a bluff, the one-eyed blonde had earned his keep by cooking for the Pines family. This was a welcome change of pace compared to Grunkle Stan's sub-par cooking. Needless to say, the twins no longer dreaded dinner time. Apparently the young man acquired the craft during his stint in the Midwestern state of Wisconsin, where he was a cook/bartender in a small town called Whitewater. He described the town as being similar to Gravity Falls, with the exception of the university. Otherwise he didn't say much more about his time there, even though he spent almost two of his four-year journey there. The twins found out that Adam's bedroom was what used to be the study where Grunkle Stan left his wax figures, before Dipper and Mabel destroyed them when they came to life to kill him. The room had been outfitted with an old cot Stan found in the town dump. Adam didn't seem to mind and was actually grateful.

"Hey, I'm going into town to do some errands. Anyone want to come with me?" Adam asked, twirling his car keys around his finger as he leaned against the door frame of the Mystery Shack entrance.

Wendy didn't even look up from her magazine, turning the page roughly to denote her displeasure. Mabel and Dipper were hanging out in the shop playing tag, but stopped immediately when they heard Adam speak.

"That sounds like fun. We really haven't been in town before, besides going to the diner." Mabel responded joyfully, jumping up and down in excitement. Dipper did not like this idea, but he wasn't about to let his twin sister get in a car with Adam alone. He nodded his head.

"What about you, Wendy? It'll be just like old times."

"Bathroom." Wendy grunted, and darted out of the room.

Adam looked sullen for a second, then he took a deep breath and put on a broad grin, fake though it was.

"C'mon, let's go."

The three climbed into the dark blue sedan, Mabel sitting cheerily in the front seat while Dipper sat begrudgingly in the seat behind her. Adam turned the key, igniting the engine and pulled out of the parking lot headed towards town.

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Hooray, road trip. What will happen on this trip into town? Stay tuned. Please read and review.


	8. Questions Answered

Trust No One

It's that time again. I'm kind of impressed with myself for keeping to a relatively stable schedule for releasing chapters. That being said, I'm having a hard time structuring the next chapter, so I haven't decided whether to split it or figure out a more pleasing style to finish it. As it stands I expect it to come out on time.

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Chapter 8: Questions Answered

Dipper was rather quiet during the trip into town. He watched Adam carefully, studying him with intense focus. He had hurt Wendy, the girl of his dreams, and even if he didn't understand everything about the situation, he still couldn't help but side with her. Not to mention that he was untrusting of Adam's, what Mabel would call, charm.

Mabel was talking about the time they went to the diner and helping Grunkle Stan hook up with Lazy Susan, but Dipper was drifting in and out of the conversation. He was amazed at how easily the young man seemed to get around, despite only having one usable eye. Dipper had thought that having a single source of vision would mess with depth perception, hand-eye coordination and field of view, but Adam was completely unaffected by these deficiencies. Dipper began to wonder if Adam hadn't actually lost his eye, that it was some sort of ruse to make him appear more mysterious or roguish for women, which apparently worked since he caught the attention of a couple of female tourists at the general store. Even the foxy girl behind the counter had been batting her eyelashes at him while she rang up their groceries. Whether Adam was aware of his magnetism or not, Dipper couldn't tell, as the young man seemed preoccupied.

They stopped in front of the police station, and all three of them stepped out of the car.

"What are we doing here?" Dipper asked, his voice laced with suspicion.

"Just visiting a couple of good friends." Adam replied.

"In jail?"

"No. Well, we might meet someone I know in there."

"Wow! Is there anyone in this town that you don't know?" Mabel asked astonished.

"Probably not. My family had a pretty solid foundation here in Gravity Falls."

When they entered the police station they immediately froze. Dipper and Mabel had been in jail once for counterfeiting bills in their Grunkle Stan's basement. He could still remember the coldness of the cell. The station itself was pretty small and only two people were sitting in a table in the corner of the room, who the twins recognized as Sheriff Blubs and Deputy Durland. As they came closer to what was considered the law in the small town, they looked up at the trio and smiled.

"Well, the prodigal son of Gravity Falls returns." Sheriff Blubs said, in his deep booming voice.

"Blubs, Durland. It's good to see both of you."

"How do you guys know each other?" Dipper questioned.

"When he was younger, he used to get into all sorts of shenanigans around town." Deputy Durland answered, in his drawl that had annoyed Dipper since the first day they had met.

"Yeah, both him and Manly Man Dan's daughter, Wendy. You two were always up to trouble, even though it was mostly harmless pranks." Blubs added, taking a sip of his coffee and laughing a little at the memories.

"Yeah," Adam laughed, "let's just say I'm no stranger to this building."

"Not to mention we investigated his parents' death. We're sorry we couldn't solve the case." Both of the police officers removed their hats in respect.

"What happened?" Mabel asked, clearly sad to hear about the young man's family.

"It's one of the greatest tragedies in Gravity Falls history. His parents were well-respected members of the community. One day, their house caught fire and they weren't able to escape. We found out later that the cause of the fire was arson, but all the other evidence went up in smoke with the rest of it. Adam stayed here at the station during the investigation and was going to end up as a ward of the state, since he was sixteen at the time. The case went cold with no leads and Adam was going to be put into foster care, but he fled." Sheriff Blubs explained, practically blubbering by the end of his story.

"I had been over at Wendy's house when it happened." Adam continued very calmly. "We could see the smoke from her place, but by the time we got there, it was too late. Since I didn't have any brothers or sisters, the life insurance policy on my parents named me as sole beneficiary. So I did what any teenager with no parents, no home and a bunch of money would do, I ran."

Mabel started to cry. She had never heard anything so heartbreaking in all her life. She couldn't imagine what she would do if something were to happen to her parents, or worse yet Dipper. They were everything to her. As she was bawling, familiar arms coiled around her, as Dipper pulled her to him to comfort his twin sister. Dipper's heart was touched as well, and while he did not express his emotions in the same way as Mabel, he did feel bad for having quickly judged Adam. How he had gone through such an ordeal and yet still have a smile on his face, Dipper couldn't say. Blubs and Durland had started crying hysterically during Adam's interjection, hugging each other.

Soon the twins felt a hand on their shoulders, and they looked up to see Adam on one knee, smiling down at them.

"C'mon, let's go home. I think we've done enough errands for one day."

They said their farewells to the eccentric police team, and got in the Mercury Sable and drove back to the Mystery Shack.

Night soon descended on Gravity Falls and everyone was getting ready for the big day tomorrow. Adam had gotten to use the bathroom first to freshen up before the twins. While Dipper waited for his turn to use the shower, he went through what he had learned today and decided to go apologize to Adam for acting so coldly toward him. As Dipper neared the bathroom, he noticed the door was slightly ajar, meaning that it's occupant was at least somewhat decent to accept visitors. Dipper began to open the door.

"Hey Adam, about what happened today, I just wanted to say..."

What Dipper saw next caused him to scream in terror.

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hehehe. I love giving you guys cliffhangers. Please don't hurt me. Read and review


	9. A Night Shared

Trust No One

Hey everyone. Sorry I'm a little late today with the release of this chapter. I was having some problems about how I wanted to end it, so it's a little shorter than normal, but only because I had a new idea halfway through writing the second half, which will be it's own chapter. Hope you guys enjoy this one and thanks again for reading!

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Chapter 9: A Night Shared

"Hey, sorry you had to see that buddy. I have to wash it out every other week or so. It's not pretty, I know." Adam said, wearing nothing but a pair of blue boxer shorts, as he put his eye patch back over his left eye, or rather the empty socket that had once held his eye.

Needless to say, the sight had put to rest any of Dipper's previous ideas about the blonde's ocular disability being fake. Dipper had originally thought that his cry would have woken the other tenants of the Mystery Shack, but when none came up to investigate, he was glad no one heard his somewhat girly scream.

"I didn't mean to scare ya." Adam continued as he watched Dipper slowly breathe in and out to calm himself down.

"Pssh, scared. I wasn't scared." Dipper laughed nervously, clearly still on edge."If you don't mind me asking, how did you lose your eye?"

Adam then diverted his attention from Dipper, staring off into the distance. He reached up with his left hand, touching his patch.

"Accident, long time ago. Before I met Stan, Wendy and the rest of the gang. Not something that is appropriate to talk about this late at night. I don't want to give you any nightmares."

Dipper simply nodded his head. While he was still curious, this answer seemed sufficient enough for now.

"So, what was it you were saying?"

"Oh, it was nothing." Dipper replied hastily.

Adam's face changed to a more concerned look before he asked, "How's Mabel doing? She seemed pretty upset at the station."

"She's doing okay. I was able to calm her down once we got back to the Shack. She was worried about what would happen if...something like that were to happen to our parents."

"You know Dipper, your sister is very lucky to have a brother like you."

"Thanks." Dipper said, looking up at Adam.

"Hey Dipper, can I ask you something?"

"Sure, what is it?"

"What kind of person is Wendy? What is she like?" This question surprised Dipper.

"Why are you asking me that? I would think you would know her better than me. I've only known her for a month."

"The woman that stands where she did, is a stranger to me now."

"Huh, very poetic."

"Mom used to be a writer." Adam stared at the boy, gesturing to continue.

"She's sarcastic, but never lies. She's mellow, but full of life. She's laid back, but not afraid to jump into something head on." Dipper smiled and slightly blushed at his description, but Adam must not have noticed the pink dusting the brunette's face.

"Very good. I guess that mean's that half of her hasn't changed. I just wonder what half is willing to forgive me."

"Well I'm not sure about the Wendy you knew, but the Wendy I know has a big enough heart to forgive anyone."

"Thanks Dipper. That makes me feel better. You can take your shower if you want, I'm done."

"Okay, but before I do, I have a question for you."

"You got it. Shoot."

"The other day when you tried apologizing to Wendy...why did you let her push you into that shelf?"

Now it was Adam's turn to be surprised.

"What makes you think I let her? She stepped to my left side and I have limited visibility on that side."

"I don't believe you." Dipper stated firmly. "You see, when we were driving, you had no problems passing cars, even if they were on the left side. Which means, you've been saddled with your injury long enough to be able to figure out a way around your so called 'limited visibility'."

"Wow, I'm impressed Dipper. Very clever."

Dipper smiled at Adam triumphantly and now gestured for him to speak.

"I guess it hurts me more to have a good friend mad at me. So, if they feel better then I'd rather get pushed around a little."

Dipper looked into Adam's eye and held out his hand. He felt like he understood the young man more now, perhaps even trusted him a little bit. Adam grabbed it and they shook hands.

"Goodnight, Dipper."

"Goodnight, Adam."

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Aww. Dipper and Adam finally bonded a little. Please read and review.


	10. The Letter

Trust No One

Hello Fallers, how is everyone? I hope you all enjoyed the newest episode of Gravity Falls. I will soon be incorporating them into my story, so I will be adding spoiler warnings to those chapters in question. Thank you for all the wonderful reviews.

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Chapter 10: The Letter

Wendy was in her room, curled up on the bed crying. Compared to most girls, Wendy was tough and she didn't cry often. She could only remember crying three times in her life before tonight.

The first time she ever cried was when her mother died from cancer when she was seven. It had been one of the few times that her father had ever cried as well. Her mother had fought hard against the aggressive disease, but she grew tired and soon closed her eyes to sleep, but she never woke up. Wendy had cried, holding her mother's cold hand while her father wrapped his arms around her.

The second time was when she was twelve years old and she was mourning the loss of Adam's parents. The funeral service had been very nice, considering the suddenness and severity of the situation. Everyone in Gravity Falls had come to pay their respects to the boy's family. Both of them had been prominent members of the community and they had been like a second family to Wendy. His mother was an editor for the Gravity Falls Gossiper and his father was a bartender at the bar her dad often frequented. She recalled that it was there that the two of them had met and forged their friendship.

She remembered as they lowered the coffins containing the remains of his parents into their respective graves at the local cemetery, she held his hand and wept. She wept for them, since Adam didn't, instead playing the part of the silent, mature son who stared intently as his predecessors were laid to rest. Even though his hand was warm, a sign of life, one look and Wendy could tell that he was dead inside.

When the third time happened, not even a year had passed. The day Adam ran away, seemingly never to be seen again. She had come to visit him at the police station, to tell him the great news. She was able to convince her father to adopt Adam into their family, so that way he wouldn't have to move away and be in foster care. Having another mouth to feed would have been rough for the family since their father was between jobs, but since she was his only daughter, Manly Man Dan couldn't say no to her. Plus, she was planning to work more at the Mystery Shack to help out.

When she got to the station, she noticed that the activity around the building was more than usual. She found Sheriff Blubs and learned that Adam had disappeared, his father's car had vanished as well, the evidence pointing to him fleeing Gravity Falls. She ran back home, tears leaking from her eyes. She shut herself in her room and flopped on her bed. That's when she noticed it, lying there on her pillow. The letter.

The envelope had 'Wendy' written on it. She recognized it immediately as being his handwriting, from the many times she would receive notes from him left for her behind the cash register at the Mystery Shack when he was off helping Stan Pines with something and couldn't hang out with her in the gift shop. She could remember how fast she had ripped into the envelope to get at the message inside. She read it over and over, just to make sure that it was in fact from him.

While she normally kept the letter hidden in her room, but the past three days she had carried it with her. It brought her comfort, especially when she would storm out of the room when Adam was there. She had felt terrible when she pushed him into that shelf. She had been stunned when he didn't stop her. She knew that he probably didn't mean to do what he did, but she still felt betrayed. She took the letter out of her breast pocket, unfolded the paper and began to read it again, even though by now she had the entire letter memorized.

_My Dearest Friend Wendy,_

_No doubt by now, you have realized that I have run away. I understand how upset you must be at me now. I also understand that you may never forgive me for what I have done. But, its time I left this town. This will be the first and only letter you will receive from me. Please tell Stan and Soos that I am fine and that I will miss their camaraderie as well. I may never see you again. Again, I am sorry Wendy. I didn't want this for either of us, but I didn't see a better alternative. You will always hold a special place in my heart._

_Your Favorite One-Eyed Friend,_

_Adam_

Every time she read the note, she could hear his voice speaking the words to her, as if whispering the words sweetly into her ear. With each pass, her anger toward him faded. She yawned, the fatigue from the day getting to her. She went to put the letter and envelope back in its original hiding spot, when something fell out it. She reached down and picked up the object. It was a picture. She had never noticed it until now. It was a picture of them all in front of the Mystery Shack. Wendy recognized it from as the one of the pictures Adam's mom took, when she wrote an article in the _Gossiper_ for the Shack's 20th anniversary. It had Stan and Soos, making funny faces at the camera. To their right was Adam, grinning his signature smile, eye closed as he held Wendy in his arms bridal style, while she wore a surprised face, with her hands above her head balled up in fists, minus her forefinger and pinkie that were extended out. She laughed, the first time in three days. She flipped the picture and there was something written on the back in Adam's handwriting, but they were just a seemingly random bunch of letters that didn't make any literary sense.

It read: _LQ WLPH HYHUBWKLQJ ZLOO EH UHYHDOHG_.

While she was interested in what it had meant, she was too tired to really care. She crawled into her bed and pulled the covers over her body. She had to get some sleep tonight. Tomorrow was the party at the Mystery Shack.

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I wonder what the secret message could be? *wink* I hope you enjoyed this newest installment.


	11. The Dance

Trust No One

Hello everyone. Sorry for the delay on this chapter, I had a harder time writing it. This does include spoilers for episode nine "Double Dipper", but I didn't want to write a complete novelization of the episode because I think it's a waste if you can just watch it. So anyway without further to do.

SPOILER WARNING: THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR THE GRAVITY FALLS EPISODE "DOUBLE DIPPER". IF YOU HAVE YET TO SEE THIS EPISODE, PLEASE WATCH IT BEFORE READING THIS CHAPTER.

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Chapter 11: The Dance

Dipper, Mabel and the rest of the gang were very excited for the dance party they were going to be hosting at the Mystery Shack. The Pines twins had been having fun with the party favors, pretending to throw up silly string claiming that it was something their Grunkle Stan had fed them. Even Wendy had joined in with them. Dipper had noticed that Wendy's mood had been cheerier compared to the past couple of days. He had chalked it up to Adam's absence. Adam had to leave earlier that day, saying that he needed to meet with the contractor about his new place, as well as some other things he had to do in town. While Dipper did miss his new friend, he was more enthusiastic about the time he was going to spend with Wendy at the ticket booth. He couldn't wait to be able to put his "Get Wendy to Dance and eventually Marry Me" plan to work tonight.

Mabel had also been thrilled about the celebration. She was going to have such a great time, but she was going to miss Adam. He had said that he might stop by later to catch the end of the party, but he didn't know when or if that would be possible. Even though the tall blonde wouldn't be there, Mabel knew that she would still have a lot of fun. She was a little worried about her twin brother and his overcomplicated plan to impress Wendy. Mabel knew that Dipper meant well, but sometimes he was so caught up in his undertakings that he would undoubtedly be his own worse enemy.

The twins also couldn't get over the discovery of the copier Grunkle Stan had in his office. Dipper had tried to find out more about the device, but 3 didn't offer any additional information about it. He wondered why Stan would have such a machine, but perhaps like the wax figures, Stan hadn't been aware of it's true potential. Dipper had other plans for the machine, as when they were working the ticket stand, Wendy decided to ditch her post to join in on the festivities. He was forced to stay, but he wanted to be with Wendy. So he decided to use the copy machine to help him with his plan. As he laid down on the glass, the eerie green light engulfed the boy and soon he was standing face to face with himself.

Dipper 2, or Tyrone had been an interesting subject of study. Dipper noticed that besides the physical similarities, the clone also retained many personality traits as well as being able to link minds and have the same thoughts. He wondered if it was a side effect from the copier or if some other supernatural forces were at work, but those inquiries would have to be put on hold. Dipper thought that with Tyrone, nothing could stand in his way to spend time with Wendy. He had strolled over to her when Robbie appeared.

Out of everyone in Gravity Falls, Dipper trusted Robbie the least. Something about the pale black-haired teenager made Dipper uneasy and the fact that the dark boy was a friend of Wendy made it all the worse. Ever since the Dusk2Dawn incident when Robbie and Dipper first met, there has been an increasingly tense relationship between the two. Needless to say, his head was spinning from the fantasy he had of losing his beloved to this emo guitarist. Tyrone and he had agreed, they needed a distraction to lure the unwanted visitor away from Wendy.

So they made three new clones, Dipper 3, the one they designated as Paper Jam Dipper and Dipper 4. Since Mabel was distracted trying to beat Pacifica and Grunkle Stan had seemingly disappeared from the party, the plan was foolproof. So Dipper 3 and 4 rode the bike with an angry Robbie running behind them. It had all gone according to plan, until now. They had ridden away on a stolen bike from the teenager, but now they were sitting back to back, tied together and blindfolded, somewhere in the middle of the dense pine tree forests of Gravity Falls. Suddenly they heard a voice, the voice of their captor.

"I'm not going to ask you again. What does Dipper know?"

The voice had sounded familiar, the clones knew that it was someone Dipper knew, but from the darkness of their blindfolds they couldn't identify the mysterious man.

"I don't get it, if we have Dipper's memories, shouldn't we know who you are by the sound of his voice?" Dipper 3 and 4 didn't know which of them had asked the question, one of the symptoms of the hive mind they shared with Dipper Classic.

The man laughed.

"When a copy is made, not all the memories are exactly copied over. They are more like smaller ripped versions, so there are holes that the copies can't fill. Also, the hive-mind only works one way. It's a safety override, to make sure the clones can't kill the originator and take his place. Now, how does Dipper know about the secrets of Gravity Falls, and how did he find out about the copier?"

Robbie came upon a clearing, chasing after the thieves that stole his mountain bike. He could have sworn that it was the snot-nosed brat that Wendy had dragged along on their time at the haunted convenience store, but he noticed that the other thief was not the kid's twin sister. It almost looked like an exact copy of the boy. Robbie wondered if perhaps he had a twin brother as well. In the clearing lay his bicycle, completely abandoned and unharmed. Robbie looked around and saw no fleeing children in sight. He shrugged and picked up the bike, straddling the seat and taking off toward the Mystery Shack. As he rode back to the dance, he couldn't hear the horrified screams of the two tortured clones in the deep woods nearby.

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Well, I hope this one was worth the wait. The next chapter might be put on hold for a bit as I figure out some logistics before I head back to school. Hopefully the wait won't be too long. I kind of like releasing these on a regular schedule. Anyway please read and review.


	12. O Death

Trust No One

Good morning Gravity Falls fans. Since you didn't get your regular schedule update on this chapter, I decided that I'd add a little extra in this chapter. I really wanted to add the tag on later or maybe expand on it as it's own chapter, but it just didn't seem to flow right anyway else. I want to thank you folks for all your wonderful comments and reviews. I'm all caught up on episodes so I have a pretty good idea as to where I want to go with the story. Luckily I haven't run into too many pitfalls yet. So without further to do, here is the next chapter!

SPOILER WARNING: THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR THE GRAVITY FALLS EPISODE "DOUBLE DIPPER". IF YOU HAVE YET TO SEE THIS EPISODE, PLEASE WATCH IT BEFORE READING THIS CHAPTER.

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Chapter 12: O Death

The clones were no more.

Dipper had fired his party popper and the resulting smoke triggered the response of the fire alarm, causing the sprinklers to go off and covering the clones in water. They slowly began to melt, creating mixed pools of water and clone goop on the wooden floor. Dipper was relieved, until he realized he missed one. Tyrone tried to grab Dipper and put him in a choke hold. Dipper was able to reverse the grapple, but soon they heard the familiar laugh of a certain red-headed teenager.

They both looked over the railing to see Wendy giggling with Robbie, who apparently had gotten his bike back. Seeing him whispering something into her ear made him filled with a kind of sadness he hadn't felt before. Tyrone had felt it as well, whether it was from the hive mind effect or that he too had developed feelings for the girl. The clones looked at each other and decided that they had blew the only chance they had to be with her tonight.

"I don't know, do you want to get a couple sodas or something?" Tyrone asked. Dipper and Tyrone smiled at each other, got up and headed for the roof.

Wendy had been wondering where Dipper was. Even though she was having fun with Robbie, she enjoyed the short stretches of time she had spent with the brunette boy. He was cute when he was flustered and he was actually pretty smart, even with the rhetorical questions they had asked each other. He kind of reminded her of Adam. She had noticed the similarities between the two when she had been avoiding Adam for the past four days. Just as she was thinking of this, she looked up and saw him standing in the middle of the dance floor.

She couldn't believe what she saw. Adam was standing there in a black tuxedo suit with a black bow tie wrapped around his neck. His face was clean-shaven, making him look almost like he did when he was 16. He even had his hair cut and styled like he used to when they were growing up, shorter with the front bangs swept over to the left side. He seemed to be searching for something and when his eye met hers, he smiled, waved and started heading her direction. She pouted and crossed her arms.

"Hey there, I finally found you. Robbie, how are you? It has been too long." The tone in Adam's voice seemed almost like he was being sarcastic. While it was true that the two boys didn't always see eye to eye, they had been friends almost longer than Wendy and him. When she looked over at Robbie, the boy looked paler than usual.

"Adam, I don't believe it. We thought you had died. When did you come back?" Robbie stuttered. Wendy was confused, she had never seen the normally calm and cool teenage boy so flustered before.

"I came back about four days ago. We should definitely talk sometime. Would you mind if I borrowed Wendy for a minute?"

"Oh yeah, sure of course. In fact, I just remembered I have to go home to do some stuff. See ya Wendy." And with that, Robbie grabbed his bike and practically sprinted for the door.

"So, I see you got all dressed up." Adam said, smiling and looking at Wendy's little bow tie she was wearing with her normal attire. Wendy merely shrugged and diverted her attention away from him.

"Well, don't you look out of place. It's a party, not a funeral." Wendy immediately regretted what she had said and quickly went to apologize

"Let's dance."

"W...what?"

"Come on." Adam grabbed Wendy's hand and lead her out to the dance floor. He twirled her around expertly to the music. She had wondered if he had always known how to dance, or if it was something he picked up during the four years being away.

"Listen, we need to talk."

Wendy looked up at him and saw that the smiling boy she saw earlier was replaced with a serious young man.

"I know that you haven't forgiven me for leaving, but I want you to know how hard it was for me."

"Hard for you?! What about me?! My supposed best friend just up and left me."

"If I had stayed, I would have been shipped off to some place where we could never see each other again."

"We were going to adopt you into our family. That way we could still be together and you wouldn't have to leave."

"I couldn't do that to you guys, your dad was out of a job. I would have been a burden."

"You know it's not only about you!" Wendy practically screamed at him. Normally, people would probably start looking their direction, but they were too busy applauding Mabel and Pacifica for who would win the party crown that Soos was holding in his hand. Adam pulled a somewhat resisting Wendy toward the back of the dance floor.

"You're right. I know it's not all about me and I'm being selfish, and for that I'm sorry. But you have to realize how strong you are. You didn't need me all those years ago. You have a great family, good friends and from what I've heard, you've become a really awesome person without me around."

Wendy stared into his eye. She had never had anyone say those things to her before. She began to tear up.

"So, I would like to meet this new Wendy. Hello, my name is Adam." And he held his hand out in front of him.

"You big dork." Wendy said, half laughing and half crying as she flung her arms around him in a warming embrace.

She whispered into his ear, "I forgive you."

"Well, looks like you two are getting along again."

They both looked up to see Stan Pines grinning at them.

"Hey, I was looking for you earlier tonight, but I couldn't find you. Where were you, Stan? Adam asked, again with the weird inflection he had used with Robbie.

"Oh, I had to take care of a couple of wild animals. Nothing I couldn't handle."

"I see, well I hope you don't mind that I raided your closet for this suit."

"Nah, it looks better on you and I have another one just like it anyway, so you can go ahead and keep it. But don't tell anyone I gave it to you for free. I've got a reputation to keep."

"Oh I almost forgot, I've got to go back to the house. I need to grab some of my things over at the site." Adam said as he looked at Wendy, who looked a little sad.

Adam grabbed both of her hands in his, and looked deeply into her eyes.

"I promise, I will never leave you again."

"Okay go. We can hang out tomorrow." Wendy replied, giving him a big genuine smile. Adam quickly ran towards the door and left. Wendy was happy again, knowing she had her best friend back.

Robbie had gone to the cemetery. Being among the tombs had always helped him calm down. He walked along the many rows of headstones, recognizing names of friends and prominent members of Gravity Falls. As he strolled he began to sing a song. It was a dirge he had learned a lifetime ago.

_O Death, O Death, O Death_

_Won't you spare me over 'til another year?_

_But, what is this, that I can't see_

_With ice-cold hands taking hold of me_

An unearthly hum filled the air around the cemetery. It was as if the dead themselves had joined in with Robbie's depressing requiem.

He came across two familiar gravestones. The age of the graves was clear, as they had been covered in moss so that only a part of them could be seen. They both bore the same symbol above the visible text, a triangle with an eye affixed in the top corner. The name on the left read _Jason_, while the one on the right read _Mary_. Robbie began to sing again.

_When God is gone and the Devil takes hold,_

_Who will have mercy on your soul._

_O Death, O Death, O Death_

The voice that sang the next verse wasn't his.

_My name is Death..._

Robbie quickly turned around and backed up, tripping backwards and falling to the ground. He looked up at the silhouette in pure terror. The figure flashed a giant grin.

_And the end is here..._

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Well that's chapter 12. I hope you enjoyed this one as much as I have had writing it.

The song that Robbie and mystery man are singing is called _O Death_. _O Death_ is an old American dirge that originated in the southern Appalachia region back as early as the 1920's. It was originally popularized by Ralph Stanley in the movie _O Brother, Where Art Thou?_, but it gained recent popularity when the song was covered by Jen Titus and featured in the "Two Minutes to Midnight" episode of _Supernatural_. Jen Titus' version is the one that includes the tag that our mystery man sings at the end and what I used as the inspiration for the scene, even though I do enjoy Stanley's version as well. Here is a link to the version I used on Youtube: /watch?v=SXpnI52cLEc


	13. The Deal

Trust No One

Hello Fallers. Long time no see. Sorry for the extended hiatus, but with school started up I haven't had a lot of time to sit down and write. I've kept up with Gravity Falls so far and the story will continue, sticking close to the story that has been established. I am not sure when I will be able to work on the next chapters but I will try to get them out as soon as possible. Without further to do, here's lucky chapter 13.

SPOILER WARNING: IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN THE EPISODE "IRRATIONAL TREASURE" PLEASE SEE THE EPISODE BEFORE READING THIS CHAPTER

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Chapter 13: The Deal

Dipper and Mabel were on the run. They were on the trail of a conspiracy surrounding the founder of Gravity Falls. They were also running from Sheriff Blubs and Deputy Durland, who were hot on their tail, trying to prevent them from discovering the hidden truth. It had all started with the Pines being stuck in traffic, encircled by covered wagons pulled by horses. The whole town was celebrating Pioneer Day, the celebration of the anniversary in which Gravity Falls, Oregon was established. It now made sense to Dipper why Wendy and Adam had decided to spend the day together visiting all their favorite spots in town. The story went on about how the small tourist town was founded by the brave Nathaniel Northwest, Pacifica's great grandfather. Or so it was told. 3 had mentioned that it's author was close to finding the real founding story, that Nathaniel Northwest was in fact a fraud. Mabel had been made fun of by Pacifica in front of the whole town. Needless to say, Mabel jumped at the chance to not seem like a fool, with the added benefit of putting the smug blonde girl in her place.

They had figured out the code on the paper that was enclosed in the book. At first, the cryptic symbols had been confusing, but thanks to Mabel's unusual behavior, they found out that it was a map, showing the location of the next clue was in the Gravity Falls Museum of History. After sneaking past the guard at the front of the museum, which was just a young woman handing out balloons, they found the next puzzle they needed to solve. Again Mabel's silliness proved to be the key to the seemingly abstract painting. It was a picture of a pointing angel, which Dipper recognized as a statue in the local cemetery. The twins quickly ran toward their next objective.

It wasn't long before they came upon the great statue. It towered over the twins, almost menacing in it's appearance. The depiction of the angel was unlike any other statue Dipper had seen before. Her eyes were closed, her face transfixed in what appeared to be a mixture of anger and shame. In her right hand, was an open book with undecipherable scribbles and her left hand was outstretched, index finger pointing toward something. Below the sculpture itself was a plaque with imprinted letters that read:

_ET NOS PEPERIT MONSTRUM_

Dipper looked in the direction their clue was pointing toward, but his sister recaptured his attention. She thought it would be funny to make it look like the celestial being was picking her nose, which inadvertently caused the memorial to shift back, revealing a hidden passage way. As Dipper went down, he noticed something scratched into the marble at the bottom of the plaque. He felt a cold chill when he recognized the hurried strokes, as if someone were trying to relay a dying message. It said:

_YVDZIV SV XZM HVV ZOO _

Dipper didn't have time to figure out what the cryptic message said, he had a mission to find the truth about the small town of Gravity Falls. He found his resolve and followed his twin into the dark depths of the underground tunnels, unaware of the secrets awaiting the two adventurers.

Pacifica was sitting in her living room in her lavish home crying. Crying because she had learned that the whole reason her family became rich and famous was a complete lie. It hurt her. Yeah she knew she was mean to people, but that was because she was proud of her family and what they had done for the town. Now, she was nothing more than the great-granddaughter of a fraud. Sure no one else in the town knew the truth yet, but she had a feeling that the Pines family would be spreading that information soon enough. She always hated that family. They were so cheerful, even though they had nothing to be happy about. It made her absolutely livid. She was about to throw her 5th fit of the day, when she heard the doorbell ring. Pacifica knew that their live-in servant would answer the door and shoo away the unwanted visitor. When she heard the butler call for her mom and dad, it piqued her interest. Her father was the first to reach the visitor, shook his hand and started speaking to him, seemingly glad that the stranger was there and at the same time, extremely nervous.

"As you can see, this would be terrible to our reputation in this town if it were to get out." Pacifica's father said, wiping his forehead with his pocket-handkerchief.

The man standing next to her father merely smiled and said, "I understand. You have nothing to worry about, Mr. Northwest. I will make sure that your family's honor is protected, as long as you will help me."

Her father nodded his head, and motioned him into the living room. Pacifica stared at the intruder. He turned toward her and smiled.

"You must be Pacifica. Look at how big you have gotten."

Before she could reply her father said, "Pacifica, go to your room. I need to discuss some things with our friend here."

"Yes daddy."

She got up and started up the stairs, her mind on the stranger and the deal he was making with their family.

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Well here's the newest chapter. I know it's a little fluffy, but I promise more hard hitting writing in the upcoming chapters. Please read and review.


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